IBM on Monday opened a new research facility in Shanghai, its second in China, to focus on areas including Web services and cloud computing.

Located in eastern Shanghai's Pudong in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong New Area, will employ 100 researchers, and is designed to help IBM attract more talent form southern China.

The company has operated a facility in Beijing for over a decade, employing more than 200 reserachers. The Shanghai center is IBM's first new R&D premises anywhere in the world since 1998.

Opening research centers is a popular method for making investments and demonstrating commitment to the China market. Many top American IT companies, including Microsoft and HP, have research and development facilities in China, in part to take advantage of plentiful and inexpensive technology talent.

To comment on this article and other PCWorld content, visit our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.